~ CHRIS ~
Story 1

Vampires



For my wonderful companion,
X.

CHAPTERS...

PREFACE
1. THE LETTER
2. RUNAWAY RUMBLE
3. BLOOD - VENOM
4. VAMPIRE LIFE
5. TABLE MOUNTAIN
6. HUNTING TIME
7. TELEPORTATION
8. REFLECTION
9. TOMB RAIDING
10. SPIRIT CHANTING

PREFACE

The moonlight shone brightly in its complete form. The perfect moment for this. I swung over the edge of the cliff. I searched for a hole, and there it was.

I stuffed the miniature golden hawk in it. All of a sudden, the moonlight focused on the mini model. As though it was touched by a magic wand, it started to flutter its wings.

And it was expanding quickly. In just one blink of an eye, it had grown to three times its size. It continued growing until it was larger than me. I got a sudden idea that I had to leap onto it.

But I didn’t. The hawk blinked three times at me. Then, it took off into the dark sky, heading towards the moon. I bared my teeth as a queer feeling of agitation filled me from within. I closed my eyes and the fog suspended around me.

I growled in an instinctive way and leapt straight down the mountain to final freedom...

CHAPTER 1
THE LETTER

The postman walked away from the post – box, his last one, his final destination to freedom for the day. His work wasn’t such a torture, it was quite simple.

All he had to do was to deliver around 100 envelopes in a day. And usually, he manages to finish before the sun sets. And now, back to his home for a nice cup of hot tea, prepared by his wife.

As he walked away, the curtain moved and two small eyes peeped at the post-box. A moment later, a maid, dressed in plain white rushed down the stairs. She quickly took the brown envelope and rushed into the house.

As she walked into the house towards the staircase which twirls upwards, before leading to her mistress’ bedroom, she looked at the envelope. It was brown, thick and bulging. It even bore a golden seal.

She had reached the long corridor. She reminded herself, to give it to the door at the end, not the first one on her right. She glanced at the white door on her right before walking to the last door.

Immediately, she knocked on the mahogany door.

RULE 1: KNOCK ON THE DOOR, BEFORE YOU
ENTER.

Or else, the mistress will be your own personal hell to you.

RULE 2: YOU MUST RESPECT THE VISITORS.

The visitors in this case, were not very friendly. They were long – faced women who liked to criticize about everything. If this rule isn’t obeyed, you have to clean all the dishes and you can kiss your monthly bonuses goodbye.

RULE 3: DO WHAT YOU ARE LISTED TO DO.

Or else, you will get fired.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

‘Enter ,’ was the response to the continuous knocks.

‘Good morning, ’ greeted the maid.

The mistress, as usual, was admiring herself at the mirror. The mistress is beautiful, but her mean behaviour destroyed it. And now, she was playing with her hair.

‘This was delivered just now, ’ the maid said and gave the letter to her mistress. The mistress tore the envelope open and read it. She grinned in a content way.

‘Who delivered this? ’ she questioned the maid. ‘The postman, miss' the maid spoke but in her heart she wanted to be sarcastic and say policeman. I mean, how stupid can anyone be? She thought.

‘Now leave, and call my son here, ’ the mistress ordered.

‘Yes, then I shall continue attending to the dishes, mistress, ’ the maid said and walked out of the room. Now, my most favourite room, she thought. The door was pushed slightly as it opened.

I looked up at the sudden intrusion.

‘Your mother is awaiting your arrival at her chamber, ’ said the maid. That’s when we both burst out laughing. ‘ I thought I had already told you not to speak to me in that ancient way, ’ I stated.

‘Well, I had the impression that your mother had installed a CCTV in here, ’ the maid said, while straightening her apron. ‘Of course, she did. I reprogrammed it, though, ’ I said pointing at the monitor.

On it was a scene of the maid talking to the son in a polite way. ‘Wow! How did you do this? ’ asked the maid to me. ‘ HIM, Human Illusion Modifier, ’ I explained.

‘I think you’d better go now. Your mother might get impatien’ the maid continued before leaving the room. I quickly walked out of the room and towards the room of my mother.

I pushed the door and cold air rushed at my face. I entered and closed the door. There was a torn envelope on the table beside me. I took it and saw that it was empty.

‘Here,’ said my mother, waving a white, and a picture of a lotus printed at the side of the letter. I moved forward to take it. It had been folded neatly into three halves.

It had already been opened, but someone – probably my mum – had stapled it back. One part of it had been torn unevenly and I could see the trace of a hole running along the side.

Dear Mr. Christopher Lois,
We have accepted you to our college which is West High Academy. But to enter this college, you have to first go through an orientation program in the woods of Samara. Once the adjudicators there have passed you, you can enter this college. For further questions and other relative inquiries regarding this matter or in need of more information, feel free to contact the college.
Principal,
Oliver.

DEAN: 984 724 6768
OFFICE: 683 456 7267

A camping bag landed at my feet. I opened it. It was full of clothes and things, like torch and batteries.

‘What is this?’ I demanded, pointing at the letter, then the bag at my feet.

‘You’re going to the college’s camping orientation tomorrow, ’ replied my mother.

‘Mum do you even care if I want to go? ’ I shot back at her in anger.

At the moment, all I felt was anger. I didn’t want to leave my precious room and leave to some dumb college.

‘Of course, I did. Doesn’t my act of choosing the best school show it to you? ’ My mum muttered.

‘Show what, mum? That you want me to get lost from here? ’ I yelled.

‘Yes... A little – Wait , I meant... No! It shows that I care about you,’ said my mum.

‘I hate you!’ I shouted anger before running out of the room. I rushed into my room. I took out a piece of paper and scribbled all my on it.
I'm out of here,
Chris

I quickly stuffed my clothes and a torch inside another bag. My mother’s voice echoed in my head, ‘We leave tomorrow!’ . The words repeated over and over again. I felt sick. Fine! If she wants me to get lost from here, I will.

I thought to myself. Okay, all the clothes, check and torch, check. Now, for my most prized possession. I moved to the back of the room where I hid my cash. Just a few turns and the safe sprang open with a soft click.

Now, for the alarm system, I thought as I inserted a small chip into it. The alarm system stopped. I reached in and took my most valuable item which was The Golden Diamond. I remembered finding it in an old village house. The house was completely empty except for this diamond and a few drawings. I shuddered as I remembered the grotesque pictures.

I pressed another secret compartment in the wall and waited...

CHAPTER 2
RUNAWAY RUMBLE

The stone wall in my room seemed to shift away. I took one last, quick - brief even, - glance at my room. I had second thoughts, but I lost them as soon as I was walking down the dark passageway.

The stone steps were rather old, I concluded. The walls were filled with strange carvings. I walked on until I found a black door blocking my way. I tried the handle but found it stuck. The rust probably, I thought and slammed my body against the door.

The door broke away and fell down, dragging the hinges along with it. I lifted the door and put the door back in its place. Though I knew how useless it was, I didn't really care much. Now, what will I do? I thought as I looked around.

It was dark now. The buildings looked old and really dilapidated. The surrounding was peaceful and silent. So much that I had to admit it was a rather creepy there. The Outer London would not be a good place to hang out at night.

I quickened my pace and my instinct went wild. I felt like someone was following me. Not only had that, but the fact that someone was really following me actually freaked me out. The last thing I needed was for some unknown murderer to come and kill me.

The strangest thing was there was no fear that overwhelmed me. Next, someone or something flew at me and had me pinned against the nearest and very filthy wall. I couldn't understand myself at that time because despite the fact that someone might want to kill me, I wasn't the slightest bit worried.

The man who held me by my collar looked kind of French. His skin glowed with the moonlight that shone in the sky. He held his hand, in a claw – like motion at a perfect aim for my neck. His eyes were red, bright red as though an LED was placed inside.

‘Dinner is served, ' a female voice intruded.
‘The last time we had an English dinner was when it was 1809, I presume?' asked the man holding me.

'Was it that guy who was the British diplomatic envoy, Benjamin Bathurst?' the woman snooped in.

'I have to admit I did enjoy that female woman MORE, ' the man stated and started to laugh.

I did not find anything that seemed funny enough to laugh about. But the woman glared at the man with her scarlet eyes. Her gaze seemed to bore right through me.

'Sweden, 4th of May, 1923. The cops were rather keen on the body of the prostitute you left. They named the case, 'Vampire Murder Case' since you left the body of your bloodless victim behind. Very stupid of you, Jacque. Don't you think so, my dear Rose?' a new voice spoke.

The only answer was hushed silence. I could hear the faint whisper of the wind, blowing about us calmly. The moon was in its complete form. My brain felt slow that night.

Then, after a few thoughts, ideas or mostly possibilities that I might have just walked into a pack of cannibals burst into me. I stood rather still. Perhaps if I stayed silent enough they might just forget about me and I might just be able to escape. But, it wasn't as easy as I thought.

'So... Are we allowed to use our names now, Jack?' the female, Rose spoke.

'Yes, you may. And what do we have here, mademoiselle?' the stranger with the black cloak, Jack sighed.

'A human, what else, ' Rose added in a placid tone.

There was a hint of annoyance in her tone. And, I also noticed the way she spoke the word human, as though she wasn't one. That's when Jacque burst out laughing. Rose and Jack turned to look at him.

'He thinks we are humans. His poor incompetent mind, accusing us of being a fragile, weak human. That's the funniest joke I had ever heard of in an entire century,' Jacque spoke aloud.

The others remained silent. It looked like they were mocking Jacque now. Rose was upset, I realized after Jacque had brought about the subject about his victims being a prostitute.

'Enough of your silly jokes. Let us continue feeding and best be on our way. The Elders granted us one last chance to get rid of the werewolves. Holocaust the First is nearly here and we must be prepared. We don't know how Andrade will end us, yet,' Rose muttered and three pairs of raving eyes focused on me.

Jacque let go of me and I dropped to the ground. My elbow was grazed a little. I lifted my hand and found a cut, and blood oozed out from the open wound. Jacque flexed his muscles uneasily and Jack's eyes opened wide. Rose stood calmly at my side, hand raised, ready to strike me dead.

'Wait!' Jack ordered. 'His blood has the scent of the blood of the Boy of the Destiny. He is our boy. After our weary and long search, the Boy is finally revealed,' Jack exclaimed, happily.

'What about the you – know – what. Our part of the bargain, the gift of the End Gods to a mankind,' Jacque sighed.

'Come here, boy!' shouted Jack.

I walked over to him. He snatched my bag and searched it for something. My thoughts flew to the golden diamond, my most priceless treasure. Just as I thought of that, Jacque grinned.

'He thinks it’s just a diamond,' Jacque said.

Jack pulled out the white handkerchief I had used to wrap my treasure in. He shook it and the diamond fell on the palm of his hand. He passed it over to me.

It was warm, and this was strange. I remembered taking it from an old house and it wasn't warm at that time. It seemed to emit a rather feverish glow and then died out. A wind seemed to settle itself around me.

'Maybe, he can't-

But Jack stopped right there. The diamond was starting to glow again. It began as a flush of yellow light and gradually increased in brightness. Surprisingly, a golden ray of light erupted and propelled itself into the sky.

More beams shot into the sky and I noticed something strange happening to the moon. White, circular – shaped rings were forming around the moon. It swirled like mist around it and for a moment, it looked breathtaking.

Suddenly, I stumbled on the uneven road and lost grip of the golden diamond. It slipped and clattered on the road. Immediately, everything vanished. Even the moon vanished beyond the thick clouds.

'You are the One,' Jack said in a matter–of–fact way.

'We need him to control the diamond. The diamond is the only Gift from the Gods that can help us now. Therefore, he has to become one of us,'

'He? One of us?' snickered Rose.

'So, who's going to do it?' Jacque asked.

'I'll do it...

'Why are you the one who is supposed to transform him?'

'I guess because I can resist the temptation of blood...'

'So?'

'So...Shut up!' Jack growled at Jacque angrily.

Jacque backed away slowly as Jack made his way towards me. My legs felt like jelly. My mind was screaming in terror, telling me to run. But I knew that destiny couldn't be changed. So, I did the bravest and most probably the foolish thing I had ever done. I stepped forward to meet him. Jack threw a curious glance at me.

'This is for your own good,' whispered Jack in my ear.

I felt his lips touching the back of my neck for just a second. There was a soft bite, like an ant sting and then, Jack lifted his lips clear off my neck. A pain buzzed through my neck, my body shrieked in protest as the venom started to flow.

I fell down on the road and my head began to spin. My surrounding was blurring. Next, I felt a similar pain in my legs and hands. The pain spread faster and it grew deadlier by the minute.

'I told you to stay off him...'growled a voice that might've belonged to Jack.

'I wanted to prove it to you! Prove that I could resist blood,' Jacque argued back.

'And, what about you?' Jack growled again.

'I follow what the boys do, and please take note that I never get left out!' screeched Rose.

'Fools! Do you know what you've done? You've passed on your powers to him,' roared Jack in anger.

' To think the Gods favour him enough. What more with this matter......?’

'But...I can still hear your minds,' replied Jacque in horror.

How could he not know about this fact? He had lived for almost three centuries on Earth. It seemed outrageous that he had missed out a really vital piece of information about the venom of a vampire.

'Of course you still have your powers. The power that resides within you now is a somewhat copy of your powers. You've passed on your matured power over to him...' continued Jack.

'Can't we extract the venom back?' questioned Rose.

'No, it's too late. I'm afraid that cannot be done,' sighed Jack. 'The vampire transformation has already begun.'

'I doubt that sucking out the venom will do any harm to us?' pondered Jacque loudly.

'Why do I end up with the thick–headed vampires of the End of Time?' Jack groaned angrily.

'There are certain vampire transformation rules that comply with this. Once a vampire bites a human, the human's mortal life is over. What the human shall face will and must only be immortality or death. If the vampire that bit the human acts on withdrawing or extracting the venom, the vampire itself will suffer a fate worse than death. The vampire will succumb first and later on die the way all immortals die...' Jack explained.

'And what is that?' Rose asked.

'The death of an immortal person is not like a mortal. A mortal endures pain before he releases his last breath. That is the end of a mortal person. But for an immortal, the last breath released is the beginning of a new life. Therefore, in the end the immortal will simply fade away. Dissolve into nothingness, that'll be the fate that you'll face if you even try...'

There was a long moment of silence. I lay in the background, writhing in pain at the fiery sensation that was spreading throughout my body. I screamed as I felt more pain bursting into my head. I grabbed my head, wanting to smash it against something.

The pain was driving me nuts. And even worse, killing me.

'So what will happen to him?' I heard Rose speak, her voice becoming faint and it sounded so far away.

I couldn't here anything else because I had already passed out into a world of pain and eternal darkness...

CHAPTER 3
BLOOD-VENOM

The silvery substance made its through the windpipe, edging along the C – shaped cartilage and into the lungs. The venom sees its chance when it sees the pure haemoglobin floating by.

It moves with lightning speed and fills up the space where the oxygen should have fit in. The rest of them rushed to follow the first. Squeezing inside the haemoglobin was the perfect plan.

The blood – venom moved into the left atrium. The venom grew curious when the atrium seemed to act like a pump. The atrium then contracted, which squeezed the blood – venom through the mitral valve into the left ventricle.

After the blood – venom filled that ventricle, the mitral valve swung back and closes. Another valve called the aortic valve swings open simultaneously. The blood – venom finds themselves being filled into the aorta.

The blood – venom swings itself along a circular – shaped cubicle and was shot into these strange branches. There were numerous branches and the blood – venom was separated. It whizzed at high speed to where the red branches led them to.

All of a sudden, it felt something absorbing themselves from the haemoglobin. The venom cells flew at the body cells mercilessly. Destroying every part of them and creating cells that multiplied rapidly and formed new tissues which becomes organs later on, fit for an immortal.

The devenomized venom was swept out of the perfect body cells and the blood once again flowed the useless ones to another place. The heart pumped on steadily, knowing that something else had ventured into its domain.

Upon command, an army of white blood cells were sent after the mysterious trail. The devenomized venom knew that they were being followed by the white blood cells. What use did they think they were against the venom?

The leucocytes spun around the venom and started attacking them. The venom knew that they would win the fight too easily but decided against it. The venom swept along billions of other cells, creating an illusion as though they were trying to flee.

The plan worked too easily. The Leos were rather fast and once they were dealt with, they will prove worthy for an immortal body. The venom could picture the fall of the heart just too clearly. The leucocytes stared amazingly at the devenomized venom that struck organs, tissues, bones and body cells.

The effects were fascinating. The parts of the body turned into a strange crystalloid material. The wonder nearly made the leucocytes to forget their mission to terminate the venom. The blood seemed to slow down the Leos. The heart was weakening.

The devenomized venom cheered and suddenly stopped flowing. The heart might just be failing, but it certainly wasn't going to give up too easily. The venom was surrounded. White blood cells encircled them from every corner.

Suddenly, the red wall around them seemed to burst and out poured more silvery substance. The heart pumped furiously, determined not to give up and fail its master. It gave orders for the Leos to attack. The attack was useless for the devenomized venom now had recruits.

Either way, the leucocytes fought bravely but unfortunately, they were fighting a losing war. The venom vanquished the Leos and produced a new Leo, a batch of super leucocytes. These guard cells were now officially under the control of the venom.

Glad with their latest success, they hurtled on destroying everything and replacing them with the most perfect organisms that had ever existed. The beating heart was really close now. The blood around the venom seemed to hold itself back.

This started to get on the venom's nerves. The venom ordered the leucocytes to search for a breach and soon enough, the venom found itself flowing at ease towards its final enemy, the HEART.

The blood – venom and the devenomized venom flowed straight into the right atrium from the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava that brought in blood from the head and arms, and blood from main parts of the body and the legs respectively.

The pulmonary vein appeared as a threat. Since blood could only flow forward and not backwards, because the valves existed. Therefore, the venom decided to send half of its army through the pulmonary vein and into the lungs.

The other half would remain here in the heart to destroy it completely and create a new unstoppable heart. A heart that no longer required air for respiration. Thus, creating a being that didn't breathe and didn't eat any human food. But the venom knew that they needed something to feed on.

New plans appeared and the venom now knew what it had to do. But those plans could be carried out later. First things first, the heart had to be destroyed. The remaining army was sent to attack the parts of the heart.

The venom could feel the power of the body surging around it. The heart fought on, pumping threateningly. The venom knew that it was a matter of time before the heart was too weak to resist the power of the venom.

The heart faltered, almost stopped but it mustered the remaining strength within it to fight back. The venom had surrounded the heart completely. A feeling of defeat dozed it for a few seconds.

There was still strength left within the heart. It decided to fight till it stops breathing. The heart released its own leucocytes. But the venom transformed them soon enough. It was losing; it was failing its master.

The heart faltered, the pulse weakened as it released its last beat. Once and for all… The final beat drove the venom mad with delight for it was the signal all of them had been waiting for. And their great enemy, the heart was finally dead. Gone was their Great Enemy...

……………

Those three strangers had told about something. They had cried loudly that they were vampires. I mean, was it actually even possible? I had the just – some impression that they didn’t exist. But one of them had bitten me, that made me wonder.

……………

I was in hell and I knew it. Those vampires have killed me and now I have joined the Dead in the worst and damned place ever, HELL…

How did I know that I was in hell? Well, that’s easy. My body was on an endless fire that raged like a freak supernova around me. The fire was red, white, black and blue at the same time. I shrieked in pain as the flames licked hungrily at my body.

I had told them to kill me and they had done just that. Now, I was in a tight spot. I’m in HELL and there’s no way of escaping it. Oh God! Help me, I wanted to shout. What had I done to deserve this? I had run away from a goddamn place called home, if you could call it one.

I had run away from my mother who doesn’t love me even the slightest? Who was the guilty one here? What else was I to do? Stay there? HUH? That sentence that I had blurted out in my mind got me thinking. If I hadn’t run away, I wouldn’t even be in this hell – hole, would I?

So…Remaining at home would have been a better option.

No! Never will that be true. And I actually growled in anger. All of a sudden, a force had me pinned in mid – air and waves upon waves of fire swept through me. Help! Help! I yelled helplessly.

But I knew my efforts were a complete waste. I mean, who in the freaking world would be able to hear me shouting aimlessly in Hell, exactly? The fire gushed into me, causing more shrieks of pain and I struggled to free myself from the invisible grip that held me.

That’s when I decided to think carefully instead of shouting relentlessly. I know what you must be thinking right now, that no one would be able to think in such a situation as this. Well, I don’t really care because you wouldn’t ever be able to classify me as a person with a right mind.

Since, the pain increases every time I struggle like an outraged bull, I made a simple theory about this. What will happen if I remain still and silent? What would the effect be, then? Would it still be the same?

Only one way, I thought as I directed my mind to freeze. To stand the searing heat and pain, to stand against the Great Fire that erupted around me like a huge wall. Completely inescapable. I focused myself into staying still and I tended to empty my mind of everything. Empty of memories, both bitter and sweet and everything in between.

That’s when the changes began. A hole seemed to blow itself into existence around the raging fire. Cold air rushed and blew around me, swirling to greater heights, speed and evidently overpowering the heat. High winds appeared like coats of arms and swept past the fire and extinguishing it.

This was something new, something unseen or unheard of – Hell’s fire being burnt out. I mean, since when did Hell’s Fire burnt out, extinguished completely, and reduced to black ash. The heat around me subsided slowly, leaving a cool sensation about my body. The torture was at an end. My theory had been proved correct.

But I was still suspended in mid – air. No sooner had I thought of that, I felt myself fall. The only weird thing was the ground didn’t greet me. Only, once again, darkness…

CHAPTER 4
VAMPIRE LIFE

The air was still around me. The frost flew around me and pricked my toes. My body did not seem to respond to cold touch. That angered Jack Frost, who in turn flew away in rage searching for others.

Eyes closed, something told me that three people were watching me. Two males and a female on a pine tree. Questions buzzed my head, most of them wondering about what they were doing on top of a tree.

The surrounding was rather silent. A new possibility swept in my mind. Could it possibly be me whom they fear? I had after all transformed into a vampire. I am a newborn, but what was there to fear? I remembered facts telling that humans who transformed into new vampires were usually out of control, at an utmost.

Am I such an extreme threat? I mean, I still felt like myself. Almost completely, except for my eyes. There was still a little leftover heat that lingered there, but otherwise, no. The heat decreased quickly and cooled down. That’s when they started communicating.

‘It’s over,’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, he’s thinking about something…’

‘WHAT?’ came a surprised cry.

‘That is very unusual,’

‘Yes, it will be safe to approach,’

It? My heart boiled and bubbled at that voice. Why was I being referred to as it? My anger level was rising.

‘Oh! He’s angry. Mind your words,’

‘Before saying, I know,’ Came another grumble.

‘Yeah, right? Like you all care,’ I groaned as I stood up.

My eyelids flickered as they fluttered open. For a moment, everything was white and blurry, as though I was staring through a crystal. Then, my vision became clear, refined even.

I adjusted to my eyes and found that I could gaze to distant galaxies. I readjusted and found myself face to face with face with three familiar figures standing at my sides. That’s when I realized the place I’d been lying on.

A dark, grey stone slab in the centre of a rocky room, a cave after observing the ceilings. Stalactites and stalagmites rose like thorns from both floor and ceiling, looking rather threatening. Moonlight seemed to fall into the cave – room and filled the slab that I had been lying on. There was a circular, man – made hole at the top.

‘What am I doing here?’ I asked out of curiosity.

‘And did I really go to hell?’ I questioned, looking at them.

That’s when they burst into mounds of laughter. I couldn’t get it. Why were they laughing at me? I had just come back from hell, and all they do is to laugh out loud.

‘Of course, NOT,’ Jacque replied, snickering.

‘So what did happen to me? All that fire, pain and terrible heat,’ I sighed slowly.

‘Vampire venom excruciates the human body. It depends on the pain of the human as well as the number of vampires that bit you. Like you for example, you were not in any form of pain and the fact that three vampires bit you explains it all…’Jack began.

‘OK. So, where am I?’ I asked, again.

‘This is the Cave of the Moon. A cave under the special control of the Goddess Deliphio,’ sighed Jack.

‘Who is Deliphio?’

There was a moment of silence as the three vampires gave an awkward glance, a glance of uncertainty and agitation. I mean, what did me mentioning about who – knows – who Deliphio is…

‘Allow me to suggest something… Can’t we leave explanations aside first, I want to get going already!’ shouted Jacque, and surprisingly he growled.

‘Patience, love. We’ll go all in good time,’ Rose whispered.

I have to admit it that her voice sounded chilling like the East Wind. It sent a powerful surge of freakish – excitement into me.

‘Oh! I can’t stand it anymore,’ shouted Jacque as he stormed off, stamping his foot.

My first thought was that he was acting rather childish. I looked at the ground and found the ground below me was cracked and a gaping hole stretched below.

That’s when I felt someone push a white handkerchief onto my pale hands. The white handkerchief was lifted and the golden diamond lay once again within my clutches.

I waited and ironically, I held my breath. I knew that I didn’t actually need to but I did it for the fun of it. The golden diamond lay on the palm of my hand, still and motionless. Three seconds passed, and nothing happened.

‘Maybe his deoxyribonucleic acid has changed completely, leaving no trace of any human genetics information within him,’ theorized Rose in a scientific way.

‘No…It’s not that. Nothing about DNA,’ Jack exclaimed, obviously directing it to Rose.

‘Maybe it’s our supernatural powers that are affecting him and thus affecting the diamond as well…’ stated Jacque all of a sudden.

‘Had fun destroying the Village of Zhou?’ Rose asked in a sickly kind of voice.

‘Of course! Rose, yours was the force field, Jacque , telepathy and mine, the Shield. That would exactly be the very thing that is acting on you…’ Jack concluded the entire thing.

I stared at them with a queer expression. What were they exactly asking me to do now? Then, I felt something open up in my head. I could see Jacque and Rose’s thought. I ignored it when I found it a mere unimportance.

‘Close your eyes and imagine a lush green meadow filled with life…’

What the hell was that supposed to be? Anyway, I followed what he asked me to do and I closed my eyes. But I had something else on my mind. I decided whether or not to follow the instructions.

My mind decided that there was no harm in doing it. Instead of an immediate image in my mind, my brain began to form it pixel by pixel. A far stretched field curved into a hemispheric shape.

A long stream of water appeared from thin air and plopped to the ground around the meadow. It looked just like a moat from my point of view. The Sun in the sky shone its piercing sun rays and lightened the complete meadow, casting a beautiful view.

I felt rigid for a single second. Something snaked its way out of me and rushed away from me, swooping as it went. Then, I opened my eyes and for a moment, all seemed silent.

‘I can read your mind now!’ Jacque cheered happily.

But his cheers and happy whoops were drowned by a loud ear splitting scream. All of them turned their eyes to Rose, but she shrugged. Rose’s power was also the Gift of Silence, the power to silence people.

Don’t ask me how I knew it but I just did. It popped into my head without me even noticing. Their eyes turned to me. Not exactly me but the object on my hand. The same object had started vibrating madly and non - stop.

And the Golden Diamond was screeching like an angry bird. The Power of the Diamond was finally being bent to the inner strength of a vampire, me. That wasn't supposed to happen, ever...

A golden ray erupted but I realized that my eyes had been fooled. The golden ray shot out of the diamond and twisted like a thin strand of string around the cave walls.

More golden strings erupted from within it. It spun all around us and thickened against the rocky walls of the . The diamond began to emit a bright glow of light. Then, a thought of realization struck me.

‘Quickly! Grab my hands all of you…’ I yelled loudly.

The diamond screeched louder and it rose up into the air. Mysteriously lifted into the air, was something even I couldn't give a possible, reasonable explanation.

Cracks appeared along its sides as the diamond opened up, miraculously. The light produced was too much and it blinded me from seeing anything.

The cave walls started spinning around us, as we were lifted off the floor and whooshed right into the very heart of the diamond...

CHAPTER 5
TABLE MOUNTAIN

We were swirling faster and faster through the air. Suddenly, we fell on solid and moist ground. I got up and brushed the dirt that had grazed the left side of my sleeve. Damn! My white shirt had a brown stain on it.

I looked around. I was still alone and I wondered where in the world I was? From thin air, Jacque dropped and landed on me. I groaned as I pushed off my body.

Oops! My bad. My throw had sent him flinging through the air and land in a muddy patch. He got up, covered completely in thick mud. Jack and Rose popped into existence beside me.

'Where are we, exactly?' I asked looking around myself.

'The diamond from the End Gods was supposed to help the possessor in a way unknown to the Sacred Land of Gods,' Jack slowly sighed.

'Well?' I asked turning my gaze away.

Something new had settled in my head. It was an uncomfortable feeling of semi - hatred. This Diamond was under my control, so why were they in here with me? I should be the only one who was to be here.

Then, I remembered Jacque and his mind – reading ability. I was careful enough to slip a hole in every in – between thoughts. I flashed a look at Jacque but he seemed pretty unaware of my thoughts.

I had to recreate the Shield of mine. But the question was, HOW? I had gotten the shielding ability directly from him. So, that probably meant he knew the way for it.

I closed my eyes as I felt myself floating away from the rest world. A familiar wind seemed to rise out from inside and spread around me.
Then, I was back with the others.

I could see Jack's mind too clearly. I searched through his mind like a computer, searching for a missing file - the File of Creating Shields. I found in a matter of 2.53421 seconds. It was hard at first but I managed to get in, in the end.

Little did I know what I was actually creating at the moment. My mind buzzed but I chose to ignore it. A mysterious voice turned on in my head. I wasn't crazy but it was a voice and it sounded rather familiar.

'The Shield Gift is a unique power given only to chosen vampires. It acts on positive thinking and vice versa, '

'Jack... It's you, isn't it?' I asked in an uncertain voice but there was no reply.

What just happened? I wondered to myself as I thought of the words the voice had told me.

For a second there, it had sounded like Jack's voice. My shield penetrating Jack's might have triggered some kind of link. But I doubted that Jack knew about this, and I decided that it would be better if he didn't.

'Happy things break the shield, so sad things would only reform it...' I wondered aloud.

'HUH?' cried Jacque and Rose too synchronized for a human to be able to do that.

Jack looked at me, confused.. I quickly closed my eyes before they realized what I was planning to do... I immediately thought of the same green lively meadow on fire.

Black fire spreading over it and raging everything in its way. Dark hazes illuminated it, casting a ghastly view. It was all silence momentarily, as a chilling wind settled itself around me and stayed.

All of a sudden, a ball of golden light appeared and sucked Jacque, Rose and Jack into it. Then, it vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared. I whispered a short thanks to the voice that had helped me.

My surrounding was starting to change and revolve into another place. I was standing at the base of a mountain. My eyes readjusted and I could view the peak.

The only weird thing was the peak. It had a flat base instead of a peak. But still, it did look majestic. The peak was completely covered with layers of thick clouds and mist entwined together.

Strange enough, how could clouds and mist just get together? Barely had the question formed in my head, the voice came back again. It sounded exactly as Jack's – the frequency, the pitch and everything.

'This is Table Mountain, a main teleportation spot to all places,'

''That still doesn't explain the clouds....' I told the voice.

'The clouds and mist that you see is called The Twist. It was created a long time ago by a vampire named Maslow. This is a necessary precaution for this place is a sacred place of the Gods. There are a lot of strange power that dwells within this place that ought not be disturbed. The Twist is not just anything. It can hurt anything, even vampires...'

'How?'

'The vampire Maslow, he gave his immortality to protect the Sacred Lands of Gods. Therefore, the End Gods have repaid his selfless act and allowed him to dissipate into The Twist itself. And there he will remain forever until the First Holocaust,'

'What am I supposed to do exactly?'

'You are destined to do Great things... The power of The Twist will bend to you. For only a vampire who possesses four gifts including traces is able to take control over it,'

'What do you mean by great things?'

'I will tell you soon enough. But listen to me first, Christopher Lois. You will face things way behind the line of logic,'

'OK...'

Suddenly there was a rush of images in my head. Information began compiling in my head. From ancient world history until the modern world history. 1.2538959 seconds later, it was over.

I had all the knowledge in the world. All except the mysterious End Gods. Who were they? But I did know one thing though... I knew that Deliphio was one of them.

I scanned through everything in my mind, but I was disappointed to find that there were 0 results about the End Gods. I knew now where to go. So, how was I supposed to exit from the Golden Diamond?

'If you don't mind, there is just one more thing the Diamond would like to offer to you. But in order for that to happen, It needs you to open your mind and allow the environment to settle within you,'

I did exactly that and emptied my mind. It was quite easy. Let me give you a rough idea of what it was like: 'Hey brain! Empty and open your mind like The Voice tells you to' .

My mind just obeyed as it wandered off slowly into the surroundings. I could hear a cricket leaping into the air and landing on a patch of grass. The wind whistled, startling it and it leapt again.

There was a loud croak and a frog hopped out of the grass. The cricket was nowhere to be seen... I sensed the water flowing from the east and headed towards the west coast. I could feel the sun setting below the horizon?

Setting sun? My eyes popped open as I found myself in another forest. How did I know that? Well, honestly the whole place was covered in snow. I could see a house in the middle of the forest.

'This is your First Challenge. Break the Force Field that surrounds the house,'

I stepped closer to the house but as soon as I was close, a plastic Wall appeared. This prevented me from entering. I looked up at the doorstep and noticed a crucifix pinned to the front door. Damn! Don't tell me that those ancient stuffs still work against vampires.

'Don't worry... The Crucifix only works partially for vampires of the Modern Age. It usually kills a vampire of the Ancient Age by first sight. Now break it, and a Gift awaits you within...'

The word ' Gift ' got me reeling as my mind quickly found the solution. I stretched my hand forward and released my Field - Shield, a combination of my shield and force field. It touched the surface of the Field and clung to it. In the next second, the Crucifix’s Shield shattered.

'Congratulations! Your next challenge is to keep it clean and neat. Don't attract attention...'

All compliments to my vampire mind. The one thing that I adore about being a vampire is the fact that my mind never runs dry of ideas or suggestions... But, WAIT... What did the Voice mean by keeping ' it ' neat and clean?

I caught a whiff of a delirious smell. It was the scent that was enough to drive me mad. The scent of only one thing - a HUMAN... I felt the snow starting to thicken so I pushed the door and entered. I could smell the heat inside but I couldn't feel it. A kettle boiled on the stove.

A perfect plan formed in my mind. An idea so simple that I could weaken my victim in a way that he becomes useless against me. I allowed part of my Force Field to encircle the kettle, making it twice as hot.

I flashed through the mind of the careless man in his room. Who would be stupid enough to leave their kettle on and fall asleep? At least shut it and heat it later on. Perfect, I thought as I focused on one small memory.

It wasn't actually small, it valued 8GB as I calculated it. It was too perfect, and I liked it that way. Perfection was the first thing that I liked now that I was a vampire. Everything has to be systematic, in a perfect order...

CHAPTER 6
FIRST HUNTING

The water bubbled violently as it reached over the boiling point. The salt at the kettle base dissolved quickly with the intensifying heat. Its lid shook violently at the high pressure trapped inside. Moments later, the lid flew off and landed on the floor.

A man in his early 30's rushed in quickly, and grabbed a rag from the nearest shelf and pulled the kettle clear of the stove. Unfortunately, as he carried it, he stepped on the lid and slipped.

The water flew into the air and drenched the poor man. He howled in pain and rushed into the living room, in search for the first - aid kit. He found it on the upper shelf and rushed through the set of creams as he searched for the one with the ' For Burn ' sticker.

As he struggled to put the cream, pain bustled all over his body. After covering his wound, he entered his room and sat on the side of his bed. He shifted himself to a lying position and lay on the bed.

He winced as the hard wooden bed brushed against his scalded skin. He closed his eyes and prayed for the pain to go away. Sleep overtook him almost immediately.

……………

'Mummy! Daddy! Look at me...' cried a boy, as he playfully struck the water around him.

His parents looked at him and laughed heartily. The wife aimed a grape at the husband, but it missed. She aimed and threw again, and this time it landed in the mouth. The couple laughed as they leant forward to share a passionate kiss.

'Do you remember the first time I proposed to you?' the father asked.

'Of course, sweetheart. How could I ever forget my sweet George crying for my hand in marriage...'

'I did not,' the husband added, his face beetroot red.

'You're blushing, dear,'

'I'm not,'

'Yes, you are,'

The wife sighed and kissed her husband again. The son looked up at the strange noises, and groaned. Gross! Why did his parents have to kiss in public? Then, he turned.

There was nobody in sight. An aura of fear overwhelmed the boy. Why wasn't anybody there? All of a sudden, his feet grazed a rock. He felt a little blood come out, but he didn't bother.

He continued splashing about. The blood went with the slow waves that rippled the still waters. The blood was swept into a dark underwater cave that was hidden from everyone.

The blood slowly disappeared and bright yellow lights filled the darkness. But if you observed carefully, you'd notice that they were actually eyes. The boy swam calmly and stopped. He felt something tug at his feet. At first, he thought it might just be some kind of seaweed.

But when pain followed, he dipped his hand into the water and felt for his legs. A moist and scaly texture came in contact with his hand. Pain wrecked the hand and he withdrew it quickly.

He screamed when he found a fish with razor - sharp teeth hanging from the remnants of his mangled hands. His parents looked from afar, but they turned away. When the second scream came, the wife got up and leapt into the water, her maternal instincts went wild and she jumped without thinking, except for her beloved son.

Thus, she too became a was – claimed by the piranhas. The man wailed in agony as he watched the piranhas tore his wife and child into pieces. Suddenly, his hand phone rang. What a bad time for a call... He picked it up and his friend spoke .

'George, stay away from that secret beach you found. Reporters have reported that man – eating fishes dwell in an unknown cave -

The line was cut. The man threw the phone into the water. Why the fuck did they have to call when everything's already too late? Why?!!!! Tears dropped down the cheeks as the hot Sun razed the sky. Everything went dizzy and he passed out.

……………

I pushed the living room door open slowly and noticed the tubes of medical cream lying scattered all over the place. I could smell his scent from here. Gross! He didn't smell so inviting like he did just now.

But the thought of the red blood kept me focused, making sure that I'm not averting my plan. Maybe this was the Second Challenge. The man was still fast asleep. I had to wake him up but not directly.

I used my shield to levitate a plate and dropped it on purpose. He woke up, wearing a perplexed expression. I laughed and whizzed out of his sight. I whispered into the air, 'Close your eyes and Death will come quietly,'

'Who? Who – o – o is there?' asked the man.

I stepped in front of him...


CHAPTER 7
TELEPORTATION
'We have to go to Egypt,' I shouted as soon as I reappeared.

'What did you see inside the Golden Diamond?' asked Jack in an annoyed tone.

'And most importantly, why can't I read your mind anymore?' Jacque questioned, gesturing me but facing Jack.

'Our newborn here has learnt to control his power...' sighed Rose.

'Unfortunately, I have to agree with Rose. Yes, Christopher has learnt the secret of his powers. But there is one thing he is yet aware of. The matter we discussed earlier,'

'If you're regarding the knowledge of the First Holocaust, I know them all,' I bustled in on their conversation.

'Of course it has to do with the Holocaust. Only this is the one thing that the diamond knows not...'

'Let them be... They are trying to test the strength of your mind. Apparently, your friend Jacque is searching for holes in your mind that he might use up to his advantage...' the Voice told me.

'Well, I see you've got the answer to your question, Jacque.' I spoke in a calm tone.

The others stared at my calm expression. Suddenly, Jack's eyes widened as he whispered something over to Rose. I could see Rose's mind too clearly. I froze. She was thinking of blood on my clothes.

Crap! I didn't notice that a drop of blood had gotten on my shirt. I closed my eyes and reopened them for no simple reason. They were looking at me and discussed something, but I chose to ignore it.

'Don't make me say it again, why do we have to go to Egypt?' Jacque broke the awkward silence.

And, he asked in an annoyed way because he wasn't content about getting the answers straight form my head. I decided to keep it as simple as possible, and that meant I wasn't going to tell them everything I know.

'Let me put it this way. The diamond told me that we have to travel to the Sacred Lands of Gods -

'And, where is that?' Rose interrupted me.

'Allow me to finish first. Before we go there, we must make our way to the Land of Sands. That's Egypt, FYI. It tells of an ancient Queen that dwells within her asylum, trapped and longing for freedom. She guards a mystic power, the twin of the diamond, the Pearl of Eternal Light. The two items are to be brought to the Sacred Land of Gods for the final decision...'

'If we are going on this together, we're going to have to make some truce. Or we'll keep backstabbing each other,' Rose hissed, unexpectedly.

I shook hands with Jack and agreed. Then, it was their turn to explain. Jack was the one to explain. Their mission was simple, to destroy their enemy known as the Waeroherias, or in English as the Werewolves.

They also told me of an ancient curse about a war before the First Holocaust. Before I forget, let me explain a little about it. It is like the End of the World, only a little more complex.

There are three. I know you must be thinking that's impossible, but it's true. The World will end three times, and each time in a different way. According to Jack, our mission was to destroy the werewolves whom are believed to lead a war against vampires.

To destroy the werewolves, would mean eliminating the cause of the War that might lead to End of the World... So, I guessed there might not actually be any harm in helping this trio.

But no way was I going to make it a four man job. Actually three man job and one woman.

'But how are we going to make it to Egypt. Even with our speed, it'll take us at least two days,' Rose sighed and added. 'The Forces of the Land of Sands will surely slow us from afar,'

'Not if we appear straightaway in the centre of the desert,' I voiced out.

'How?'

'Don't question my intelligence,' I hissed.

I told them to gather around and explained my instructions. I covered their senses with my Field – Shield. I had to make sure they didn't find out about Table Mountain, which is actually the Sacred Lands of the Gods.

We whizzed through the air and I could sense Table Mountain close by. I had to try to control The Twist and suspend all of us within. That way they wouldn't know that this was the Sacred Lands of Gods.

The Voice had told me that the secret should not be revealed to anyone. I was planning to keep it. I could see The Twist up above. I released all my powers with a single command.

I saw them flying through the air in the form of different coloured orbs. They vanished into the mass of thick fog. For a moment, nothing happened. Next, the mist seemed to shift and twist itself around us.

I controlled it to lift us to the top of the mountain. It lifted us but didn't vanish altogether. It revolved around us. So, I figured that it was safe for me to release my Field – Shield over their senses.

'Now, we will teleport from here to Egypt, past the Forces of the Land of Sands. I will teleport all of us to there. I will need your cooperation to think of the destination,' I spoke.

'You are a very interesting newborn. So much power flows within you. That's a sure sign that you are ultimately favoured by the End Gods,' Jack muttered.

I closed my eyes and released the Field – Shield. We gripped our hands tightly as something silver - blue, like a transparent cage appeared around us. So, this was a full scale Field – Shield of mine.

I closed my eyes and focused for a place in Egypt. The first thought that came was the Sphinx but then, it was a too popular tourist destination. The Nile wasn't too popular, although it was the longest river in the world.

I thought of the River Nile, and told the others to do the same. The Twist snaked thicker and thicker around us. All of a sudden, we were lifted into the air. The wind rushed around us and then, water was lapping at our feet.

No... No... A pyramid. And we vanished again, and reappeared on top of a pyramid. Excitement seized me and I lost control. We spun once again through the air and landed in Mars. A wind spun us again and we were at the Sahara Desert.

No... I have to go to Egypt as I refocused once again on the pyramid earlier. Darkness spun around us and we were whisked once again into the air. We reappeared on the peak of a pyramid.

'Everyone, let go!' I yelled as loudly as I could.

There was a blinding flash of light and I was standing alone on the peak of the pyramid. At the base of the pyramid, tourists filled everywhere. A little girl looked up and saw me. She cried and pointed upwards to me.

I made myself invisible quickly and rushed down the side of the pyramid. I had to leap about a meter high from the air and landed away from the tourists. I could only see Jack and Rose standing together.

Damn! He's in my mind. I quickly sealed the most important information, before he managed to read them. Hopefully he hadn't. I wanted to get Jacque out of my mind, if it was possible.

'Where is Jacque?' Rose asked, glaring at me.

'Trapped in my mind...' I groaned.

'How? What?' cried Rose, shocked out of her wits.

'When Jacque didn't let go when I told him to, he got sucked into the depths of my mind,' I explained.

'Is there nothing we could do about it?' asked Rose in a sad way.

I hated it when women did that. Express sadly and expect to gain sympathy from others. I told her that to make it easier for Jacque to come out, I'd have to release my Shield that covers my mind.

She begged me to do so and I did. Rose was very pretty, prettier than my own mother. I didn't want to see her upset. Now, I had to find the Asylum of the Queen. I looked at the sand molecules and noticed traces of gold glittering amongst the sand molecules.

The water must have washed the gold away. And, the only water source closest around here is the Nile.

'Of course! The Nile...' I cried and zoomed to the longest river in the world. I threw myself into the water. I found out that I could see just as clearly as on land. My eyes scanned the river from upstream until the very end.

A glittering peak caught my attention and my eyes fixed its location quickly. Having known the exact point, I rose out from the water and rushed to the others...
CHAPTER 8
REFLECTION
'Now, everyone get inside the shield bubble,' I ordered.

Three spherical bubbles appeared in front of us. I was about to get in, but Jack stopped me.

'The Twist can fool the others, but not me...' Jack told me and jumped into his shield bubble.

I leapt into the bubble and sealed it behind me. I directed all the bubbles into the river and in the direction of the pyramid. Many strange and peculiar animals swam past us.

All manners of creatures and I spotted a pack of piranhas swimming towards us. But they changed course when they realized that we weren't normal humans. Rays of sunlight shone through the water as we ventured deeper into the Nile.
It was quite dark down there. And the journey was taking quite a while. My speed was at a minimum when I'm underwater. My mind wandered off with the silence.

Why had I actually been brought here? Was there something in the end that I had to achieve? Was I supposed to be the main character in this never before story for some unknown reason that will come to light soon enough? Was I?

'Chris! Look up...' Rose yelled.

I turned my head up, and my eyes caught a dark shape, swimming swiftly through the water. I tried to move our bubbles faster, for I felt a sudden urge of fear obscured me momentarily.

That's when the fact that I was no longer human struck me. I stopped the bubbles in their tracks. I waited for the crocodile to come nearer to me. It could sense that we had stopped.

Apparently, it was puzzled. Since when do humans challenge crocodiles? thought the crocodile. I closed my eyes as my mind intercepted the crocodile's thoughts.

'Come on!' I yelled.

My words actually pissed the crocodile off. It rushed at me, with its jaws wide open. The teeth glistened threateningly sharp, but I knew that my teeth were way sharper compared to those.

I lunged at it and I cracked all the bones in its body. I tore one part of the neck and tipped the blood out. It tasted queer but better than nothing. I felt energized. After sucking out all the blood, I let the body go.

I guided the bubbles to the base of the pyramid. There was a small box at the entrance. It was labelled in an ancient language. My mind translated it quickly and the words appeared before me, in English.



'I muttered, ' ANSWER AND ENTER .'

'First, we have to solve a riddle -

Electric bolts flashed through the water and struck the entrance. Dust bellowed up into the water. Pieces of human bones scattered all around us. I turned to Rose, astounded by her power.

'That is her special power. You already know about the power transaction when the transformation occurs, right? There are certain vampires whom are gifted with a special power that cannot be passed on. Like your teleportation power. It is yours completely to use,'

I controlled the bubbles and guided them into the pyramid, through the hole Rose had created. The shield bubbles popped as soon as it was inside the pyramid. There was no water in the pyramid. I felt weird and entranced all of a sudden.

I thought of the burning meadow and the draining sensation wore off. I covered Rose with my Shield, knowing that Jack could conjure his own. It was dark, too dark. That made me uncomfortable, and thus I couldn't really think in this type of atmosphere.

I focused my shield on the ceiling, and it glowed. The faint glow revealed a long hallway. A hallway of mirrors...

..

I translated quickly, for we were in a hurry. ' ANSWER . FIND . TRAP . '
. '
OK. So, this was the next riddle. This one was quite challenging. I've never actually seen a riddle such as this. Therefore, I decided to match it with my mind. There was only one result and that seemed likely.

Suppose Rose could break them all... But no, I decided against it for the word trap existed in the riddle. That way wouldn't prove wise for a trap might just prove to be a waste of time.

'Mirrors are used for reflecting light. The reason anyone would ever put –

'Get to the point already...' Rose muttered.

'Fine! Behind the mirrors lie something that will bring us to the asylum of the dead Queen -

'Wait a moment, you never mentioned a Dead Queen. If it's a Dead Queen we are going to face, then my guess is it's Queen Cleopatra. She died many years ago. That would explain the pyramid... Her asylum is her tomb and this is her tomb...' Jack stated in a mystified way.

Somehow, his words seemed to make sudden sense. There was no trickery in there. My vampire mind matched all the unsealed accounts of the Dead Queen and matched them to Queen Cleopatra. It matched her, but I could sense that there was something. A detail that was left out.

'Shall I continue? Yes, as I said earlier. Behind the mirror lies a passage that leads to the Queen's burial chamber,' I said while scrutinizing the mirror nearest tome.

'I am very surprised you can't find the solution to this. Jack, we have done this before remember. When we came across the Circus of Humour. Foolish clowns, thinking they could fool me. if only they had known that I was a vampire...' Rose muttered.

'Well? How are we going to find the passage? You do know that we can't smash the Mirrors..'

'I'm not doing that. It's easier than that,' she sighed again.

She traced her fingers over the nearest mirror and I could see long slashes descending down to the bottom. She balled her hand into a fist, and an electric ball appeared.

She brought it close to the slash marks. The slash seemed to absorb the electricity. The slash marks were completely viewable. I could see them clearly, now.

The reflections appeared. All except one. Rose strode over to the mirrors and punched it. It shattered with a deafening crash. I could see a passage within it. Good God!

How could Rose know the solution, and I didn't? I closed my eyes and summoned the Voice. But it didn't come. But I could hear a faint whisper that said something about arrogance not prevailing.

Rose put her hands to my lips, before I could utter a word. She explained to me that reflection helps in identifying whether or not that behind a mirror is hollow.

If the mirror is hollow, it won't reflect light. So, that's how that concept works... Suddenly, there was a burst of light and I saw a figure standing within the broken glass.

A dark figure stood at the base of the stairs. Who or what could it be? Was it another riddle? Or perhaps, a Guard of the Ancient Cleopatra Tomb.

'Oh Jacque! It really is you...' Rose cried and hugged the figure.

'Hello, Jacque,' said Jack, shaking his hands.

'Hi!' I muttered, unenthusiastically.

'Wow! Your mind is so awesome... All those secrets, but some of them were impossible to read though. But there was nothing on the matter we discussed, Jack!' Jacque grinned.

I knew he was mocking me. Luckily, I had managed to hide some information, like the location of Table Mountain. But Jack also knew, so I doubted that it will remain a secret any longer.

Anger blew within me like a wind of fire. I felt like a volcano, ready to blow up. I tried my best to control my emotion, but as hard as I could, I couldn't.

Next, I had slammed Jacque hard into the wall. Jacque punched me away. I landed on a staircase I hadn't noticed before. It was made out of pure gold. The gold reflected my eyes, and I could see my eyes glowing a bright scarlet.

'Oh, no you don't!' yelled Jacque, who aimed a punch at me. He leapt through the air, I felt him rushing behind me. He was aiming for my neck, I read his thoughts.

I shifted away, inches before his teeth came in contact with my neck. I turned myself invisible but Jacque could still scent me. I focused hard and then, I felt myself disappear. Awesome! I could teleport without Table Mountain.

'Table Mountain acts as an assistant to help you teleport. That doesn't mean you can't teleport without it,' my Voice muttered in an agitated tone.

'Are you angry-

'I am angry at your arrogance of becoming a vampire....

I reappeared behind Jacque and I had his neck in teeth range. I flew at him, and sent him flying downwards. I rushed him and my teeth was against his neck.

One rip, and poor Jacque would be sent to the other side. The other side is also known as The Light. It is a world where ' dead ' creatures or non - human dwell. The vampires who are ripped, are sent straight to The Light.

But not all of them are ' dead ' ones. Some of them volunteer to enter The Light. Within this world, there is no need for bloodshed or hunting. you could say that everyone lived together like friends. But most vampires don't wish to go into the it.

This is mainly because they can't drink blood once in there. For vampires, blood is what they exist for...

'Fine! I surrender...' cried Jacque aloud.

'Extraordinary... You are a very interesting newborn. I wonder, if the Elders might be interested in you...' Jack seemed deep in thought, as he shook his head.

'Hello? Jacque to Chris....' Jacque groaned.

I released my hand. I hadn't realized that I had smashed Jacque's collarbone. The neck was almost broken, but apart from that he was alright. I rose from the floor, and Rose rushed to him. I ran to the golden stairs I had seen earlier.

I felt dizzy all of a sudden, as pain broke through my head. I fell down, wriggling in pain. The pain overtook me unexpectedly and I passed out...


CHAPTER 9
TOMB RAIDING
I was standing in front of him. I expected it to be like, what was the word, dramatic. He would kneel down and beg for his pitiful, short, sympathetic life. But no, he did something so stupid and foolish.

He relaxed as he adjusted himself to the bed. he winced slightly at the boils covering his body. I looked at .him. His thoughts were a complete mess. Imperfection is one thing I seriously loathed. His thoughts were completely unorganized.

Imperfection and him relaxing was making me seriously angry. But I could bottle my anger. Either way, I was supposed to keep my hunt neat and clean. I shook my head and muttered, 'Foolish, very foolish...'

'Why would you say that?' the man asked.

'You relaxed when you saw me, old man,' I sneered.

A knife flew through the air and landed on my hand. I pulled it out. My hand had a small slit where the knife had struck. The slit healed and I could move my hands freely again.

I lifted my Force Field around me like a solid wall. The human man threw more knifes at me, but it bounced off harmlessly. Force Field is more to physical protection while Shield is more on a mental basis.

The man got up and aimed another knife at me. I hated when people learnt Survival 101. Its a complete nuisance for vampires, if you get what I mean.

I had to get my teeth on his neck. The cream was no absolute cure, for pain still welled up all over his epidermis. I slammed a vase towards him. It struck him on the head and he fell to the floor with a thud.

I leapt towards him and looked at him in the eye. 'Now, do you see me as a threat?' I asked, pulling out a syringe full of morphine. I smiled at him before I injected it into his bloodstream.

The man was slowly draining into unconsciousness. I lifted his body up to his bed. I could smell the morphine spreading through his body. Hopefully, the morphine lasts long enough for me to finish off with him.

I could feel his slow pulse. I was seconds away from my meal. My hand touched the blisters on his skin. 'I guess you'll join your family now, George,' I sighed. I pulled out a small silver pipe and inserted it into his veins, carefully. Now, all I had to do was to bleed him out.

I injected the other end of the pipe into my hand. I felt the thin strip for a small button and pressed it. The blood transaction began immediately. I didn't know if this way would quench the itchy thirst. The blood supply went on and on.

I felt the blood supply drying out bit by bit. And then, it was over. I closed my eyes as I hoped for the thirst to stop bothering me. I felt the blood flowing through my body.

My body tissues seemed to absorb them, as though it were some kind of mineral for the body. When I reopened my eyes, I was staring at the two of us. I was staring at my doppelganger.

We moved at a synchronized way. My doppelganger looked at me, motionless. Then, he burst out laughing. Anger turned itself on inside of me. I tried slamming away, but a silver chain erupted from nowhere and snaked around me.

I struggled but the chains overpowered me too quickly.

'See what immortality has created out of you. Arrogance! Vain beyond measure. Mortality suited you better...'

'No! Never! Mother doesn't deserve me...

'You don't know about Mother! What she has done for you...'

'What more can you know? You are me! You know just as much...'

'Silence! There you go with your arrogance...'

'I am immortal...

'I can reverse all this! Make you the boy genius, HUMAN boy genius. You were way better then than you are now!'

'I am a VAMPIRE! The cleverest of all beings...'

'Arrogant fool! You are no more than the others... Just because the Voice tells you that you have all the knowledge there is to know...'

'Enough of this! I can get rid of you!'

'Listen to me, Christopher Lois! You have all the knowledge that the diamond knows. You have none more than that. That's why you can't get the answer to Cleopatra's riddle. That's Science, not Ancient History,'

I froze at the statement. I knew my twin had a point. So, I decided to listen to him. I told him to go on. He explained that this was also one of Cleopatra's Riddle. But he was at an end. I asked him how he came into existence.

'I am the mortal part of you that will always exist. When Cleopatra's curse befell you, I was able to exist in life form. The End Gods have started to fear that you might be a threat to them. That you may turn against them. They blessed you with many Gifts, to assist them. Now, they think their decision might have been too rash. I spoke on your side, and they allowed me to remind you who you really were. And Mother had a very good reason to send you away...'

I was about to ask what, when suddenly everything vanished into a misty black. I could hear someone calling me from afar. But it was too faraway. I ran as fast as I could, but I couldn't reach it.

'Chris, wake up!' Jack shook me awake.

I opened my eyes. My sight was a little blurry, like the first time I had transformed. When my sight sharpened to the maximum, I could see that I was lying in a circle. It had been drawn at a perfect radius of 1 meters.

'How are you feeling?' Rose asked.

'You were nearly taken into the Light. It was lucky we managed to bring you back. Any second later, we would've lost you,' Jack started.

Liar! I wanted to shout just that. They were the traitors here. I knew that. I closed my eyes as the Shield enclosed me once again. I wanted to get away from here, leave them. But whatever this was, it was far from being over.

Of course! Why didn't I think of that? The Second Riddle was supposed to curse me. It brought my nightmare to life. The nightmare of being human once again. Now I understood why I was so angry with the three vampires whom have followed me throughout this voyage...

They knew of the Voice in my head that was supposed to tell me everything. They had planned to test it all along from before. And they knew now that they could outsmart me at anytime.

The Second Riddle was on a Magic basis, and when I had been cursed it proved that I wasn't much of a threat. And that I could be controlled easily. Therefore, I had to keep my guards from now on...

'Chris! Come on here... There's something here that we need you to see here...' Jack muttered.

Yeah, sure you need me. Now, that the subject of focus was Ancient History. My brain had been wired for these things.

'Chris! Come on here. I think you really should see this,' Rose sighed.

I glared at Rose as I stepped forward. I closed my eyes and raised my hand. A light appeared and then, a hiss filled the room. A cobra conjured itself from thin air and twirled around the doorknob.

It hissed out these words in the same ancient language :






I translated :

' Only the One shall come to lumber
The Destiny of Foredoom
The Dead Queen slumbers
Awaiting promised freedom '

It remained hissing on the doorknob. I looked at them and told them that I was the One. I stroked the cobra on its back and it exploded into a million pieces. I turned the knob and entered. As soon as I was inside, the door vanished completely. That left only a wall behind me. No door, nothing.

Dust flew about as I entered. The dust that flew into my eyes were burned away immediately. I found myself inside a room full of Egyptian relics. There was this and also the fact that the room was bathed in bright sunlight. This was completely unexpected. The pyramid was underwater, or was it really there?

All of a sudden, I heard Rose's voice.

'Oh, you were trapped in Chris' mind. Then, you searched for holes... Then,... You escaped by searching for holes in his mind. Yes, I get it... After that, you came to an undecided part of his mind. OK, and where was that? The future –


I quickly closed the interaction and the mind – reading. Rose was marvelling Jacque outside. Suddenly, I spied a golden coffin. It stood in the middle of the room, shimmering brightly.

I touched it, and a warm sensation came into my touch. I was shocked. As far as I could recall, I couldn't feel anything. But here I was, touching the warm coffin that pulsated with heat. On the coffin were inscribed a set of words :



' Here lies the Dead Queen Cleopatra,' I translated.

I gripped the sides of the coffin, and lifted it up. Inside it was the body of a very beautiful woman. No sooner I had opened the coffin and exposed the body within to the surrounding air, the body exploded. Only her tiara was left, and on the tiara was a pearl. The Pearl of Eternal Light...

Someone tapped me on my shoulder, and I turned around. The tiara I had taken out slipped from my hand and clattered onto the floor. It burst into dust as soon as it reached the floor. Queen Cleopatra stood behind me, her face a million times beautiful than a thousand full moons.

She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Much more beautiful than Rose, who could be called a Diva Queen. But Cleopatra looked like she could be the Queen of all Diva Queens. She conjured a chair out of thin air and sat down.

She combed her long hair with a golden comb. She rose from the chair and brushed the dust from her dress. She stared at me, her iris shining scarlet.

'It has been indeed a really long time since I have tasted blood,' she began, her voice just like an angel.

'I.....

'That's enough! Your friends outside have planned something terrible for my descendants -

'I know, they are planning to wipe out all werewolves,' I added.

'Yes, the two of them, Jacque and Rose are sworn enemies of werewolves. Jack follows them to get credit from The Elders,'

'Why?'

'The story all begins with Rose being a mortal human. To make it short, she was attacked by werewolves. Jacque, who secretly loved her was forced to transform her and together, they became immortal. Ever since then, they have sworn to wipe out the entire clan of werewolves,' the Queen explained.

'The conclusion?'

'It all adds with you agreeing to save my children. So, will you do it?' Cleopatra muttered solemnly, and ripped the pearl from her tiara. How puzzling, the tiara that had exploded was back on her head again. She placed the pearl on the palm of my hands.

'Now, I can be free! Don't disappoint me, Christopher Lois...'

A bright light erupted around me as the Queen vanished. I stuffed the diamond and the pearl into my pocket and closed my eyes. I released a portal that could teleport me back to the Sacred Lands of Gods, Table Mountain...

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 31.12.2010

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